In the Classroom   

This is the longest of the six major Yang-style tai chi movements, taking about 25 minutes to complete. Tai Chi is known for developing balance, strength, and flexibility. It is a form of meditation in movement. In this class you will learn the first third of the forms, or about 36 moves, in a workshop environment.

This is the longest of the six major Yang-style tai chi movements, taking about 25 minutes to complete. Tai Chi is known for developing balance, strength, and flexibility. It is a form of meditation in movement. In this class we will review the first 36 forms in a workshop environment. Additional forms will be taught as the group is ready.

This is the shortest of the six major Yang-style tai chi movements, taking about six minutes to complete. Tai Chi is known for developing balance, strength, and flexibility. It is a form of meditation in movement. In this class you will learn all 24 forms and by the end be able to join other groups wherever you go.

This class for seasoned sketchers will focus on development of skills through practice using a different theme each week. There will be guidance from the instructor but not specific lessons. Prerequisite: one of the previous sketching classes.

OLLI students will have an opportunity to look at the prints in the Janet Turner collection at Chico State and write about them. This class is for beginning writers as well as experienced ones. Jean Varda and Joan Goodreau, authors and OLLI members, will guide students through the art-to-writing process. There will also be a print exhibition at the Turner gallery in the fall that we will be using to inspire our poems and short fiction/non-fiction.

After America's entry into WWII, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) initiated a new concept to warfare: daylight strategic bombing. This class will explore the aircraft types used and the personalities of the people involved.

Chico State's tradition of academic excellence goes back more than 130 years. With over 900 faculty members and 14,200 students, the University's teaching and learning community is thriving. Discover the imagination, cutting-edge research, and expertise that flourishes in our own backyard!

A scintillating review of current themes in the media will be discussed in each class. Class members present a topic, discuss it, then open the floor for discussion and debate. Poetry, literature, scientific discovery, and educational progress are examples of the issues dealt with. Special guests are welcome to present.

Cribbage is a great card game for two people: fast, unpredictable, and portable. Though the game has many rules, this class will take you through all facets of the game, step by step. By the time you have finished this class, you will not only know the game well, but you will also know how to teach the game to others. If you already know the game, come play with us. Been looking for someone to play with? Maybe you will find a new friend and opponent here!

Chico Performances is curating a series of lectures prior to six Laxson Auditorium performances during the 2022-2023 season. These pre-show lectures, exclusively for OLLI members, will be held the Tuesday before each performance at The Social Chico.

When you sign up for a lecture, you will receive a 20% discount on two tickets for each performance. You can purchase your discounted tickets through the Chico Performances Box Office using the code in your registration confirmation email.

Chico Performances is curating a series of lectures prior to six Laxson Auditorium performances during the 2022-2023 season. These pre-show lectures, exclusively for OLLI members, will be held the Tuesday before each performance at The Social Chico.

When you sign up for a lecture, you will receive a 20% discount on two tickets for each performance. You can purchase your discounted tickets through the Chico Performances Box Office using the code in your registration confirmation email.

Chico Performances is curating a series of lectures prior to six Laxson Auditorium performances during the 2022-2023 season. These pre-show lectures, exclusively for OLLI members, will be held the Tuesday before each performance at The Social Chico.

When you sign up for a lecture, you will receive a 20% discount on two tickets for each performance. You can purchase your discounted tickets through the Chico Performances Box Office using the code in your registration confirmation email.

Forgiveness is the conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment toward someone or something that has harmed you, regardless of whether they deserve it. This is a personal decision to let go of negative emotions which then enables us to move forward and leave that past behind. Forgiveness is not forgetting nor does it deny the seriousness of an offense, but it brings us peace of mind and freedom to enjoy the today. Forgiving can lead to healthier relationships and greater spiritual and psychological well-being.

"Great Decisions" is the Foreign Policy Association's public education program about U.S. foreign policy and global affairs. Topics include energy geopolitics, war crimes, China and the US, economic warfare, politics in Latin America, global famine, Iran and the US, and climate migration. We will select four topics each term, plus additional topics of interest to the class.

We will slow-read eight speeches and additional selections from Lincoln on Democracy, edited by Mario M. Cuomo. We will follow Lincoln’s development as a politician, how he responded to the threat of the spread of slavery in the 1850s, and his delicate balancing act between constitutional rule of law and emancipation during the Civil War. As we confront autocratic challenges from Russia, China, and others, we are well served revisiting how Lincoln articulated his struggle to preserve and strengthen American democracy.

Each week we'll view a feature-length documentary or two shorter films. The films will generally feature a performer or composer, the impact of their environment on their music, and the impact of their music on other musicians and on society. Or the focus might be on a style of music from swing to country, jazz to rock. This is a class for the open-minded and intellectually curious because, paraphrasing Mick Jagger, you might not always hear what you like, but sometimes you just might like what you hear.

The original Carter Family recorded over 300 songs between 1927 and 1943. They would become known as the “First Family of Country Music,” their old-time Appalachian songs and musicianship profoundly impacting the bluegrass, country, folk, gospel, pop, and rock musicians who followed. In each class, we will trace some Carter Family history, then learn a few of their songs. Musicians bring your instruments, but you don’t need to be a musician to participate. Interest and enthusiasm will suffice. We’ll do it jug-band style!

This class will offer a description of the 17 intelligence agencies that comprise the US intelligence community. It will include the five basic intelligence sources and a description of the six steps of the intelligence cycle. We will drill down into several of the intelligence agencies, such as the DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency). Relevant books and periodicals will be recommended. Time permitting we will examine the polygraph examination, detection dogs, and contemporary spies and traitors.

Reading poetry helps you to know things more fully; it commands your attention; and it can sustain good conversation. In this class, participants select poetry from favorite sources to read aloud with fellow enthusiasts.

In nine sessions we will look into events in America's journey from the seventeenth century to the twenty-first century, guided by literary and artistic materials. Why do many of us know little of Black Americans' lives, nor much about Black American history? Questions we raise in this course will help answer that. Our inquiry will include asking: When did slavery start in America and when did it end? Why are monuments being targeted in protests? Do differences in skin color really matter?

Sing and/or play popular gospel songs. Bring your voice, guitar, violin, cello, harmonica, squeeze box, or other instrument and join a group of people singing and playing for fun. This is not meant to be religious. It's just a place to enjoy great music. Join us!

In this class, we explore how seven of the world's religions shaped the lives of one or two of their greatest followers, and in return how the religions and the cultures that gave birth to these disciples were challenged and changed by the vision and the sacrifices made. Perhaps the deepest question we will raise is how this could have happened unless the disciples were responding to a mystical force that challenged all three: the disciples, their religions, and their cultures.

Most American PBS viewers know Sue Perkins as one of the original hosts on the Great British Baking Show. She has also presented a number of travel series on British television. Over nine class meetings, we'll view her travels down the Ganges from its source and up the Mekong through South Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. We'll also take a whirlwind tour through Japan or travel along the TransAlaska highway, one of the worlds' most dangerous roads.

The Writer's Workshop serves a community of writers interested in sharing their writing and responding to other writers' work. We will focus on fiction, memoir, creative non-fiction, poetry, travel writing, stories for children, and other types of writing. Following a workshop format, this class will be an opportunity for students to receive feedback for their written work and provide meaningful support to fellow writers.

Start your Tuesday with music and songs. Join us in a fun, informal weekly sing-along. Bring your voices and/or musical instruments. The operative word is "fun." If you like music, you will like this class. All levels welcome!